Standard & Poor's Corp. said this week that it plans to add United Community Banks Inc. in Blairsville, Ga., to the S&P SmallCap 600 index.
The $7.1 billion-asset United would replace Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises Inc., a Dallas, Pa., company being acquired by Citizens Communications Co.
Standard & Poor's announced the plan Tuesday, and United put out its own press release late Wednesday. The date of the change is undetermined.
United's shares gained 6.3% Tuesday after S&P's announcement.
"United's inclusion in the index reflects our commitment to deliver superior performance and provides further evidence that our growth strategies are working," Jimmy Tallent, United's president and chief executive officer, said in its release.
The news came just a month after United announced a $217 million deal for an Atlanta-area bank, the $675 million-asset First Bank of the South in Lawrenceville, Ga.
Buying First Bank would enable United to achieve its long-standing goal of having operations in all the markets surrounding Atlanta.
United's fourth-quarter net income increased 21% from a year earlier, to $18.4 million.
